Who you know?

[Christine831]

Hi everyone!

I am a nursing student graduating in May and have nothing lined up yet. I am still tweaking my resume, and am going to two job fairs at the end of the month.

Anyway, my great uncle is a pediatrician at a local hospital (one that im very interested in). However, he is one of those relatives you only see once per year. I'm going to run it by him first and ask him for help...but is it apparopriate to put him as a reference on my resume?? He's family, not a professional reference.

With the job market the way it is, I feel like I HAVE to name drop to get a job.

What do you guys think??

[caliotter3]

This may backfire. Try to put down professional references. Family members are not considered to be good references and your attempt to "name drop" will be transparent. Doubt that it would be viewed favorably.

[Jules A, MSN]

I'd definitely ask him for an introduction if he knows a nurse manager on a unit you are interested in but as Cali said he is family not a professional reference so I'd leave him off the job app stuff. Good luck!

[Christine831]

good, thats what i was thinking. I thought it sounded kinda tacky to even mention him bc i am smart and could do it on my own if the job market wasnt horrible. I also didnt have an internship this past summer because the hospital i applied for cut its program WEEKS before we were supposed to hear back. like the rest of us, i'm just trying to get my foot in the door at this point :/